Fate Laid A Hand
by Starladoll86
Summary: This is my story of how the club waits at the hospital to hear about Quinn and what happens with the wedding. It is a Puck and Rachel story but will feature most of everyone.


I couldn't believe this was happening. Just twenty minutes ago we were waiting at the courthouse waiting for Quinn to get there and now we are sitting in a waiting room praying that she will survive the next two hours. All of the glee club was here waiting along with a few of the parents. Sam had started to pace back and forth before going to sit next to Quinn's mom trying to soothe her. Tina was crying into Mike's shoulder and he just let her soak his dress shirt while rubbing her back. Noah had done his best to ignore and not believe everything that was happening by heading outside to sit on a bench to get fresh air. I was sitting in the floor in between Finn's legs crying hysterically. Puck's mom had brought us some boxes of tissues before she went back to see if they needed any help with Quinn. She was a nurse here and knew we would all be out of our minds with it being Quinn back there. I had quickly changed out of my wedding dress after we received the call about the accident but everyone else was still in their wedding apparel.

"Is Quinn going to be ok? I didn't understand what Puck's mom said about all of the bleeding and glass." Brittany said in between tears. I wasn't sure if she was trying to lighten the mood by just talking or if she really didn't understand and needed clarification. "She is bleeding more than she should so they are trying to stop it. There is also a lot of glass that cut her and they are trying to get all of that cleaned up before they can find out if anything else is wrong with her." Mike told her while he was still rubbing Tina's back. Brittany just nodded at him meaning that she now understood. They had always had this special connection which I always assumed they were such good friends because they had never dated. "I just hope she turns out to be ok. I really like Quinn; she is one of my best friends." "We wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for Rachel texting her about her stupid wedding." Santana shot back causing everyone in the room to seem to pick sides and start putting their opinion into the conversation. "Give it a rest Santana. She didn't do it on purpose! It was our wedding and she wanted one of her best friends there." "Finn, she is right this is my fault." I said looking up to him. He started to say something back but the doctor walked in then.

"How is Quinn doing?" Judy asked as she and Mr. Shue rushed up to the doctor. "We have her cleaned up and have given her a couple units of blood. There is an issue with her legs though and we will be taking her in for surgery but for the most part she is fine. Her heart and lungs are working great now and you all should be able to see her in about two hours." Judy shook the doctor's hand before he walked out of the room. Everyone was sighing in relief when he left and I had noticed Noah standing just inside of the outside door so he could hear what was going on. "She is going to be fine Rach." Finn told me before he wrapped me in a hug. "I think I need to get some fresh air Finn. This is all just a little too much." I told him and quietly exited the room to head outside.

I always thought it was a bit ridiculous when people said they needed some fresh air but when I walked out into the warm sun with the light breeze; I suddenly felt lighter. It was almost as if the wind was actually blowing my fears and worries away. The doctor himself said that Quinn would be fine after the surgery but the fact that she had to have a surgery at all still twisted my stomach. It wasn't fair to any of us to have this happen. Hadn't we been through enough in the last few weeks? Everything from the ordeal with Sebastian and Karofsky trying to kill himself was enough to make all of us reevaluate our lives; we really didn't need another horrible thing to happen to this group. That was the whole point of marrying Finn today. I didn't want to waste another day just thinking I will do something tomorrow. Life is happening all around us and it is our responsibility to make it the best we can; that is exactly what I was trying to do when I had agreed to marry Finn. Yes, it doesn't feel like he is my one true love but I do love him. I had always figured that since I did love him now that in time he would become my true love.

It wasn't until I heard what sounded like faint crying that I realized I was still standing in the doorway enjoying the baking sun on my skin. Everything had felt so cold for hours now that it was nice to know I could still feel warmth. Walking around the corner to see where the noise was coming from, I had spotted Noah sitting on a bench with his head resting in his hands. I started to walk towards him. Quinn and I had only been actual friends for a few weeks now and I loved the idea that we could finally call ourselves friends but Noah and Quinn were more than just good friends. They were the kind of friends that know everything about each other, they don't keep secrets, and they don't judge each other. I couldn't even imagine how hard this was for him. Taking a seat next to him, I laid my left hand on his back and my right hand went to rubbing up and down his right arm. "What are you doing out here Rachel?" He asked me in a flat tone without any sarcasm; that was not a good sign when it came to Noah. "I needed to get out of that room. Everyone is blaming me for the accident and I know they are right; it's just tough to hear it from 15 other people when I already know what I did." I admitted hanging my head down but still rubbing his back. We sat like that for a few minutes just enjoying each other's company and the spring day. "It isn't your fault. Quinn had thought of you as the voice of reasoning that she needed to listen to. You and she never saw eye to eye but you always stood by her side and helped her figure out the right thing to do. Quinn has never forgotten any of that. I know that you would have done everything in your power to stop this from happening and for that, this is not your fault." Noah answered before he sat back with his hands beating against his stomach while staring at the sky.

"It was a stupid idea for me to get married today. I said yes to Finn thinking my life was crashing down around me and then with everything that happened this past week, I didn't want to waste a second just waiting for my future to happen. Now I can't shake the feeling that this is all wrong. That marrying Finn is a huge mistake and it's making me question if I belonged with him at all." I said out loud as I was also leaning back against the bench and now looking up at the sky. "Are you actually admitting that you are starting to doubt if you even want to be in a relationship with Finn? Wow, you have changed Rachel." Noah said still watching the sky. "I wish someone would just tell me what to do. Tell me if I should marry Finn and give up my dreams of leaving Ohio because he wants to stay here or forget about Finn and just start life fresh next year when I go to New York." Noah moved his hand and it rested around mine. "I believe in fate. Everything happens for a reason and you need to listen to what is happening around you. Personally, I believe that fate is what ended up causing Quinn to be in the horrific accident that ended the wedding for today. So you learn something and then at some point in time, fate will work its case with Quinn and she we experience something that will lead back to this accident. Maybe getting married just wasn't what you needed right now." Noah told me and I took a minute to think his work over and over in my head.

"That is the issue I keep debating over and over in my head. I want to go to New York so bad; I have been dreaming about it forever but I also don't want to be alone. I'm scared that Finn is my own shot at a happy ever after. What other guy out there will ever want to be with someone as crazy as me? A part of me feels like settling is the right thing to do just so I'm not alone forever but that would mean I would end up being stuck here. Do I give up a dream for a safe future?" I asked him and I could tell he was really thinking about it. "Do you remember how you felt when you sang on the stage with Kurt at Nationals last year? Now imagine never feeling that again. Could you live life never having that again or is it more important to rush home to Finn every night? You will never have a problem meeting another guy. Yes, you are high maintenance but you are still smart, beautiful, talented, and the list goes on and on." "Thank you Noah, I'm glad I didn't actually get married this afternoon then. I would have been completely lost if I was married to Finn right now." I admitted and waited for Noah to say something crass but instead he lowered his head back down and looked straight at me. "I wouldn't have let it get the far. When they ask if anyone has a rejection, I planned on speaking up. Even though I was a best man, I knew you would be regretting the decision and needed to have an exit plan for you." I couldn't stop staring at Noah who had a small smile of his face.

I was trying to put everything together in my head but it wasn't easy. So Finn says he loves me but I'm not completely convinced that he does and Noah thinks this is fate telling me I shouldn't marry Finn. "If I moved to New York, would you come with me?" I asked him but before he could answer, I saw Finn heading over our way. "There you are. I had been looking for you; you have been out here a pretty long time. Anyway, the doctor said Quinn is out of surgery but she can't have any visitors for the next 4 hours. So I was thinking, I called the courthouse and they have an opening in 30 minutes and it is ours if we can make it there on time." Finn said bouncing on his heels but I could only feel venom in my throat. "Finn, Quinn could have died today because she was trying to get to our wedding, I think it is pretty simply that we are going to stay here for her and will have to think about marriage another day." I told him standing up and trying to turn him away at the same time that Noah had moved to start heading to the doors. "You were the one who said we can't wait a minute, so come on." Finn started to whine when Noah cut in from 8 feet away from us. "Oh Rach, the answer to your question is yes", Noah told me about it before he quickly turned his head and darted straight for the door.

"Finn I know you are going to hate me for this, but I can't marry you. We don't want the same things and to get married right now would be a huge mistake." I admitted to him as I saw his face turn too missed off. "Are you kidding me Rachel? Why were you so ready to get married earlier but now you are having second thoughts?" He asked me as he started stomping around with his hands grabbing at his head. "I have known for awhile now that this wasn't the right choice but I figured I could just act happy, that one day I would actually be happy. I never meant for it to turn out like this." Finn had stopped pacing and turned to face me. "Tell me why. Tell me the real reason why you can't go through with this." "I'm going to New York Finn and I won't let anyone or anything stand in my way. I really do love you but not as much as I love the stage and it would be cruel to both of us if I ignore that. You deserve someone who wants to be with you no matter what and I deserve to try to make it in New York." "I hate to say this but your right. I had never planned on going to New York with you; I was just hoping you would change your mind." I had known that or maybe not known but had a suspicion that was the case. Noah was right, I would end up here being a housewife with a whole litter of kids running around and never leaving the city limits of Lima. The thought made my stomach hurt and made my mind certain that I was making the right choice. "I'm sorry Finn but I can't marry you." I told him and started to slide the ring off my finger. It was strange that removing it from my hand actually felt like a relief rather than burden. I placed the ring in Finn's opened hand that was out stretched toward me. Finn was taking this much better than I thought he would. He closed his hand and turned towards the door and took a few steps before he turned back to me. "Noah is really lucky to have you in his life. Make sure he knows that every day." I stared at him as he turned and walked through the door. Was it really that obvious? I had always had feelings for Noah but I had just thought they were of friendship.

I just sat back down on the bench trying to figure out how I would face everyone in the room again. They all were planning on supporting Finn and I today but no I had changed my mind. How could I ever explain that to them without Santana killing me or Mercedes giving me a lecture? This was has to be the longest day ever. "I figured you would have come in already." I heard Noah's voice as he walked closer to me. "I'm a little ashamed to walk in there. The reason we are here is because Quinn was rushing to the wedding and now I have called the wedding off. They are all going to judge me and I'm trying to psych myself up for that." I told him as he moved to sit next to me rubbing my back. "Finn already told everyone the news." He told me and I couldn't help but look at him with a dropped jaw. "Oh please, Finn wouldn't have passed up the opportunity for everyone to fill sorry for him. Although everyone was thrilled with the news; even the parents, apparently they all thought this wedding was a mistake."

"So were you serious about coming to New York with me?" I asked Noah wanting to make sure he wasn't just telling me this to keep me from marrying Finn. "Rach, I would follow you anywhere if you asked me." I couldn't begin to contain the smile stretching across my face. He leaned forward and gave me kiss that could have stopped my heart if I would have left it. We separated and looked at each other, "Anywhere", he repeated. I held my hand out for his then, "First lets go wait with the others and then we will discuss the future."

**I don't own anything Glee just love the show! This is just my opinion on what should happen when the break ends. I think Puckelberry is better than Finchel and hope that Puck and Rachel get another shot. I hope you enjoy this story and comment your thoughts. This is a one-shot unless I get requests to have it changed. Thanks **


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